Remake Our Life!

Episode 6

It's hard to imagine Remake Our Life! topping its last episode. But then I remember that we're just halfway into this cour, and that's a lot of time for this plot to potentially rip out my heart, make me cry, or do both…for better or for worse. In any case, episode 6, “We'll Figure It Out”, is another solid entry for the series, following up a school festival episode with some character antics, character growth, and more time with Tsurayuki, who we haven't spent a lot of time with.

One of the things I've come to appreciate about Remake Our Life! is how much it's set aside the magical realism aspect of Kyoya travelling back to 2006 in service of offering a realistic depiction of college life. That includes the downsides, like overwork, which is unfortunately a norm for most of Japan's workaholic society. (Of course, this is a symptom of most capitalist societies, and not just an indictment of Japan specifically) This becomes the central plot for episode 6: Tsurayuki's struggle with exhaustion and his declining health, and Kyoya's determination to help him find a solution.

It makes for a pretty engaging plot, in large part because it's nice to see a healthy male relationship where there's no competition, just care and earnest friendship. Kyoya and Trsurayuki are rivals, but they're the type of rivals that push each other to do better rather than push against each other… until Tsurayuki starts to fray. This leads to the scene where Tsurayuki opens up, which makes for one of the most emotional moments of the series so far.

Up until now, Tsurayuki has been kind of a background character when compared to Kyoya, Eiko, and Nanako (granted, so has Aki), and I think it's important that we get a full episode dedicated to him, though I have to admit I expected it to be Kyoya dealing with overwork, especially since he (and the viewer) still doesn't know the exact mechanics of how his return to the past works. I have a lingering fear that Kyoya's gonna blink and wake up in the present, and have to somehow figure out how to go back in time. I doubt it'll happen, but I just can't shake the slightly unnerving feeling of it being a very real plot point down the line.

Things with Tsurayuki don't fully resolve this episode; what we do get is plenty of setup for a larger resolution, especially with the cliffhanger this week. I definitely have a good gut feeling that things will work out in Tsurayuki's favor, not because this is fiction or because I'm an altruist, but because I really think Kyoya is gonna come in clutch and be a good friend. Put a pin in that though: the back half of this episode deals mostly with everyone's overwork, throwing in some gags as Team Kitayama struggles to stay conscious.

My one personal qualm with episode 6 is that it muddles my ship: I'm Kyoya x Eiko, and episode 6 is clearly trying to get me onboard the Kyoya x Aki train. But I'm not taking the bait, in large part because I'm still not charmed by Aki. If anything, I might be convinced to take a stroll down Kyoya x Nanako lane, but… Eiko is where it's at, even if she's absent this episode.

Overall, episode 6 is no Haruhi-insert song episode, but it's still pretty good. Getting to spend some time with Team Kitayama is always enjoyable: doubly so since it looks like we'll be getting more of Tsurayuki in episode 7, and maybe even the start of an Aki arc. I fully expect a solid resolution for Tsurayuki's fight with his parents, and I hope that he and Kyoya become even better friends. We get a sense of why he's fighting, but I'd like to see things come full circle, come what may. Also, I'm looking forward to these kids getting into the nitty-gritty of their video game making, and maybe getting some sleep after face planting into a bunch of clay.

Definitely a good episode to carry me through the week. I hope that you feel similarly too.

Rating:

Remake Our Life! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Mercedez is a JP-EN localization editor & proofreader/QA, pop culture critic, and a journalist who also writes for Anime Feminist, where she's a staff editor, and But Why Tho?. She's also a frequent guest on the AniFem Podcast, Chatty AF. When she's not writing, you can find her on her Twitter or on her Instagram where she's always up to something.